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Are we (US) just not even trying to train dogs to that caliber or is it something that we just haven't perfected to the level the Europeans have? Do our larger police departments send handlers to Europe to train and learn?

I think the only reason why we breed more good dogs and pre-train to a higher level is because our countries are a lot smaller. It's easy to find a working dog club in your environment. There must be 5 or 6 clubs within 20 kilometers of where I live. Such a network gives alot of good dogs and knowledge.

Just to add a bit to what Kevin has posted… In the US, tactical teams are pretty much on the same page with everything they do. We tend to follow most of the same protocols and use the same tactics. This has come through years of professional critique of operations both successful and failed.

When it comes to K9 use and SWAT you begin to see that there is no “national standard” to look towards for guidance. Many tactical teams don’t use dogs at all. Some progressive teams (mostly out west) are utilizing dogs more and more as an integral part of the team.

We began integrating our K9 program into our tactical team about a year ago. Unfortunately there is very little training available to assist you in doing this. If you are lucky there is perhaps one article about K9 use in SWAT operations in the National Tactical Officers Association magazine. And these are just articles about use…not how to train the dog to perform these tasks.

I think in the near future you will see more and more integration of K9 teams and SWAT. Change takes time in law enforcement……sometimes lots of time.